RURAL MEDICINE
AND THE BIGGEST SPANISH FAMILY PHYSICIAN ORGANIZATION
Introduction:
Demographic forecast predict that urban population will go on raising, as well as demographic gap between cities and countryside. Because of population dispersion and
other factors, rural medicine has to face particular challenges. First World countries have big Family Physician Organizations. Spain is one of these countries, and SEMFYC
(Sociedad Española de Medicina Familiar y Comunitaria) is the biggest Spanish Family Physician organization.
SEMFYC has about 19,500 members, spread all across the country. It has often been especially difficult for rural practitioners to stand out and get their own place inside it.
What is SEMFYC? An Overview :
Spanish Family and Comunitary Medicine Society. Created on 1982, federates 17 Family Medicine
societies, from all Spanish Autonomous Regions; each one of them is independent
Gaceta SEMFYC, as a publication, is a communication tool for SEMFYC associates.
SEMFYC Actuation field (2006-2008 strategic plan)
Social and Community, Scientific, Professional, Social Services, Federate relationship,
Organisation development.
SEMFYC internal structure
> Directive organisms: Members General Assembly (representatives of all members). Directive
council (representatives of regional Societies). Permanent Council (SEMFYC's government).
President.
> Departments: Professional Development Department. Investigation Department. Young Family
Doctor Department. International Affairs Department. Workgroups. Family Medicine Council
Member.
> Other directive departments :
Counselling Council. Scientific Committee. Publishing Committee.
> SEMFYC Programmes.
Preventive Activities Program. Community Activities Program. Human Dimension . Communication
in Health Program. Life Support in Primary Care Program. Smoke-Free Primary Care.
Accreditation System. Organization an managing system.
> There are 33 Work Groups, including Rural Medicine Work Group.
SEMFYC Rural Medicine Work Group: Established on 1996.
Mission and objectives
•Being a reference inside SEMFYC for Rural Medicine in Spain and abroad.
•Promoting the awareness on Rural Medicine special circumstances in each Working Group
activities. What is CAMFiC ?
•Being a meeting point for Rural Medicine Working Groups from each regional Family Medicine Catalonian Society of Family Medicine (Societat Catalana de Medicina Familiar i
Society. Comunitària). Created1983.
•Promoting reconnaissance for Family Medicine inside and outside SEMFYC. About 3500 members. 37 Working Groups, including CAMFiC Rural Medicine
•Promoting public's knowledge and reconnaissance for Rural Medicine. Working Group.
•Promoting professional development and fulfilment for family doctors working on rural field.
CAMFiC Rural Medicine Working Group
International Events Representation:
Established on February 2007.
• Wonca 6th Rural Health Conference. Santiago de Compostela (2003)
• Wonca 7th Rural Health Conference. Seattle (2006)
Mission and Objectives.
• 12 th Regional Conference Wonca Europe. Florence 2006
•Promotion of knowledge and prestige of rural practice in Family Medicine.
• 14 th Regional Conference Wonca Europe. Istanbul 2008
•Promotion of reconnaissance for rural practice as a part of primary care practice.
• Executive and activities of Europe.
•Promotion of professional development and fulfillment of physicians working on
• Hungarian Academic Association of Rural Health IV Conference IAAMRH European Chapter –
rural areas.
Horvatzsidany 2007
• Equip – Wonca Europe (European Association for Quality in General Practice). Brussels (2005)
How does the Group work ?
and Barcelona (2006)
•One yearly presencial meeting and two yearly virtual meetings via Skype ®
•Web page inside CAMFiC website, including documents of interest and activities
Other activities of SEMFYC Rural Medicine Working Group:
of the Group. Contact: rural@camfic.org
• Research: REDIMER (Red Investigadora Médicos Rurales-Rural Phisicians Research Network)
Open web mail list at medicinadefamiliarural@yahoo.es , with about 70 members.
• Lectures and poster presentations in SEMFYC meetings: Congresses of federated Societies,
Regional meetings, etc.
Activities for 2008:
• Proposition and promotion of Rural Medicine in Family Doctors training program.
• Family Medicine Residents (trainees) Meeting, at Girona: Round Table on
• Creation and Support for the creation of regional Societies' Rural Medicine Working Groups in
mandatory Rural Medicine term for Family Medicine residents.
Aragón, Asturias, Castilla y León, Catalonia, Extremadura and Vasque Country.
• II Congress of Catalonian, Balear and Valencian Societies of Family Medicine:
• Suport for the inclusion of a Rural Medicine representative in regional Family Medicine Societies'
Round Table “Rural Medicine Term (for Family Medicine Trainees): State of the
Council from Galicia and Navarra.
art and Role of Teaching Units”
• Promotion for inclusion of Rural Medicine into the Vasco da Gama Movement.
• Participation in the Teaching Units Technical Meeting, promoting and supporting
• Participation in the Hippokrates European programme for Family Medicine trainees exchange.
the Rural Medicine Term for Family Medicine Residents.
• Participation on the WONCA-Europe Scientific Committee, Málaga 2010.
• Consolidation of the Teaching Partners Network for the Rural Medicine Term in
Catalonia.
• Written guide: “Teaching Project – Reference Document for the Rural Medicine
Term”.
• “Centres Rurals a Catalunya” (Rural Health Centres in Catalonia), a descriptive
survey.
• First stage of the descriptive survey “COPD in rural areas of Catalonia”.
• Collaboration with the investigation project “Quality Circles in Secondary
Prevention in Rural Areas”.
Conclusions:
Increasing demographic differences between rural and urban areas will have an enormous effect on how
medical services will be provided in the near future.
Big medical organizations must include and promote rural medicine inside their structure, trying to
understand and cope with the differences between rural and urban medicine in a dynamical way, in order
to achieve the basic goal of making primary health care feasible and accessible all over each territory.
Active participation and constant involvement of rural practitioners will be necessary.
Jaume Banqué Vidiella (1).
Jordi Casanovas Font (2).
Marcos Romero Méndez (3).
1- MD. Family Medicine. CAP Xerta – iCS. ABS Tortosa Oest, Gerència Terres Ebre. Tarragona – Semfyc and Camfic Rural WG - Spain.
2- MD. Family Medicine. EAP Vic – El Remei, ABS Vic Sud. Regio sanitaria Centre. Barcelona – Camfic Rural WG - Spain.
3- MD. Family Medicine Resident (trainee). EAP Vic – El Remei, ABS Vic Sud. Regio Sanitaria Centre. Barcelona - Spain.